


Reset to Save

by Aralyn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Determination (Undertale), Gen, Inner fears, Self-Discovery, Undertale Pacifist Route, What-If, overcoming self-doubt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14671626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aralyn/pseuds/Aralyn
Summary: Monsters have finally gained freedom from the underground and are enjoying life on the surface. But when Frisk is involved in an accident that is slowly destroying her, the monsters are desperate to find a way to save her. One could say that they are.... filled with determination.





	1. Chapter 1

Sans settled comfortably against the tree he had chosen for his nap, indulging himself in the sunlight shining through the tree and pleasant breeze. The underground never had this kind of warmth and if appreciating that fact took lying down all day and doing nothing besides soaking it up, then the world wouldn’t find him wanting.

Papyrus was supposed to meet him here later once he finished working at the Italian restaurant. One of the employees was a friend and thought it would be fun for Papyrus to experience more with advanced cooking during their work shift. Hopefully his bro wouldn’t get too enthusiastic and set the kitchen on fire; while it would be a minor inconvenience for a skeleton, it was another thing for his new, fleshier coworkers. Thankfully, Papyrus had only started at most two fires since they got here, and those had been because Undyne had learned about what flambés were and had insisted on sharing the technique with him. Old habits never truly died.

_Almost hard to believe it’s been nearly four years since the barrier was broken._ Sans glanced up at the white fluffy clouds. They looked so fluffy, like his bed, just thinking about it made him sleepy. His vision slowly faded to black as sleep spread its blanket over him. 

As he began to doze, his mind flickered back to when the barrier was broken—a happy memory, for once—Sans could still remember everyone’s smiles of shock and joy at finally reaching the surface. Many had openly shed tears at finally seeing the sun for the first time while the younger monsters pestered Frisk with questions about everything around them, like trees and flowers, grass, or even the wind. Fortunately Toriel had been there to make sure Frisk had some personal alone time.

Papyrus and Undyne had also been granted the new rank as Royal Guards of the Ambassador, an idea from the young human, that both had instantly latched unto. Undyne certainly had if the multitude of broken boulders and trees driven into the ground branches first were anything to go by.

Nowadays, the kiddo was busy 24/7 in her work as the ambassador of monsters, along with her everyday life and schoolwork. Toriel and Asgore had adopted Frisk together, which helped in beginning to bridge the gap between the two and give them a chance to try again as a family. So far things seemed to be going well with the royal monsters. Both of them deserved happiness after many years of pain and sorrow.

By this point, Sans was beyond the state of dozing, allowing the darkness of sleep to win him over and was out in a few seconds.

He had rarely dreamed in the underground, the few times he did were never good, though he could barely remember why. Something about ripped dusty red scarves… When they had left the underground, there had been a surge of nightmares about them being trapped back underground or that monsters were disappearing from the surface and he was the only one who remembered them. Nowadays, the bad dreams were replaced with happier ones, sometimes replays of a happy day or a particularly well-timed pun. An unconscious smile crossed his face as one such memory played out in the dream.

 

_Frisk was holding his hand tightly as she lead him through the dark nighttime woods. She had insisted that Sans kept his eyes covered, even pulling his hoodie firmly over his eye sockets to make sure he didn’t peek._

 “Kiddo, where are we going? You know Toriel doesn’t want anyone to go too far from the camp.” _Sans tilted his head slightly to the side while blindly trying to avoid stumbling over any tree roots or rock, as Frisk led him through the forest._ “Especially you, since you’re the ambassador now.”

“Don’t worry! It’s not too far. I made sure of that _._ ” _Frisk’s voice was cheerful as her hand gripped his a little tighter. “_ And we’re almost there anyway _.”_

_“_ Almost where kiddo? _”_ _Sans huffed, feeling an ache in his legs. He wasn’t a fan of physical labor; it was much easier to take his little shortcuts through the bending of time and space. Not to mention lowering his chances of him dusting from a stubbed toe or something trivial. As he contemplated on his fragile existence, he noticed that there was now grass swishing with his footsteps and a slight angle sloping upwards to their walk._

_Frisk laughed, walking a few more steps before coming to a complete stop._ “Ok, you can take the hood off. We’re here.” _Sans pulled the hoodie away from his face and blinked to find the two of them on the top of a small hill covered with grass while the woods stood behind them. Glancing over to Frisk, the skeleton noticed the kid was staring upwards at the sky before looking over at him._ “I wanted to show you first, since I promised. I just had to wait for night to come so we could see them.” _Smiling, Frisk pointed._

_Following the direction, Sans felt his breath catch as a sea of stars glimmered down from the dark midnight sky. It was like staring up at the underground ceiling, except so... Much… Better. This was a ceiling that could never be reached, that radiated an endless feeling of space. He quietly chuckled at the unintended pun. He almost felt like a kid again, or maybe like Papyrus, staring wide eyed at the expanding beauty above him, unaware that he was now sitting down on the grass from the sheer wonder of it._

“I wasn’t a huge fan of watching stars _._ ” _Frisk settled down beside him._ “It seemed like I was always alone and insignificant each time I looked up at them _.” There was a pause for a few moments as if she was thinking._ “But now? I don’t feel that anymore.”

_Sans managed to break away from staring at the sky to see Frisk, knees pulled up to her chest, wiping something from her face before looking at him with a grin._ “I guess its better to watch with friends _.” Small hints of tears still kept showing in the corner of their eyes as the kiddo kept smiling._

_Reaching over, Sans ruffled the top of her head, resulting in a chuckle from the human as Frisk let him mess up her hair._ “Yeah, its pretty **bone-ly** doing things alone _.” Sans winked and his grin spread further across his face._

_Frisk scoffed_ “Wow, seriously? That’s a stretch, even for you. Are you star-struck or something _?” They both looked at each other before dissolving into laughter, tears of mirth running down their face. Frisk rolled back onto the grass, slowly calming down as she looked up at the sky again. Sans lay down as well and they spent a few minutes watching the sparkling sky._

“I hope I can do everything _.” Frisk quietly said, grass rustling as she shifted her position._ “Everyone is putting their trust in me, that I’ll make everything perfect as the ambassador. But what if I mess up? What if I can’t do it Sans? I’m scared _.”_

_Sans turned his head to see Frisk looking at him, unease showing in their face, a hand tightly gripping the front of their striped shirt._ “What if I fail _?” Moving a hand over, he carefully gripped the kid’s hand resting on the grass and gently squeezed it._

“Don’t worry about. Nothing is ever perfect right off the bat, things will happen.” _Sans tone was serious for once, causing Frisk to blink in surprise at the sudden change of attitude._ “But, if you were strong enough to face everyone when they attacked you and help them when they needed it, even if it didn’t seem like it at the time, then you have enough to do this _.” Sans then broke off the seriousness and smiled._ “Besides, you’re not alone, everyone has your back. And I’ll always keep an eye socket open for ya. I did promise Toriel after all”

_Frisk let out a sigh and smiled again._ “Thanks Sans. I promise, I’ll do my best and stay determined to make everyone happy _.” She looked up at the stars once more, all nervousness and tension gone from the kid’s frame._ “Think we should surprise everyone else with this? Bet Alphys and Papyrus will be the two most shocked _!”_

“Bet you twenty gold I can get Undyne to try to hit one with a spear if I told her they’re challenging her.” _Sans answered, grinning._

“You better not _,”_

“Oh yeah? Why’s that _?”_

“She might hit one _.” Frisk answered matter-of-factly._ “As Ambassador of Monsters, I’d then have to deal with what politics would call stars falling down… an incident _.”_

_They looked at each other for moment, then broke down into laughter._

 

_It was at that moment the dream changed. Sans blinked to find himself floating in darkness that pulsed as if it was alive, like it was trying to grab at him. Twisting and turning to try and orient himself, he caught a flash of color in his peripheral vision. Slowly rotating, he found himself face to face with Frisk with a cheerful smile on her face._

“Frisk?” _Reaching forward slightly, Sans paused, unsure of what to do. Horror swamped him as Frisk began to fade, the edges becoming blurred before fragmenting away into small pieces, the smile still on her face._

“FRISK!” _Sans screamed, reaching out to try and grab the kid, save them before they vanished. His fingers just barely touched her shoulder before Frisk completely shattered into nothing in front of him. Frozen and shaking in shock, he tried to comprehend what had happened when he sensed that something was there with him in this darkness, watching him from behind. Slowly turning, he found himself facing another kid wearing a long sleeved green sweater with a broad yellow stripe, a black shirt collar folding over the head of the sweater, and brown jeans. They had their arms held loosely behind their back._

“Who are you?” _Sans tensed slightly, there was something about this kid. It wasn’t Frisk, but Sans couldn’t shake the feeling he’d met them before. The kid said nothing, only shifting their body slightly and tilting their head to one side, their bangs falling away to reveal red eyes—more like solid scarlet dots, really._

_It gave him the heebie-jeebies._

**“You can see me?”** _Sans shivered as the kid’s mouth didn’t moved and yet somehow their voice seemed to echo all around them_. **“How? I didn’t think it was possible for** **anyone to be affected** **….”** _The kid tilted their head upright and stared at him straight on, their gaze intense._

_If Sans had pupils, they’d have shrunk to pinpricks as black ooze began to trickle from the human’s eyes, darkness consuming the whites of their eyes and turning the iris blood red._

_The pulsing darkness broke around them and consumed Sans, blocking his view of the kid and robbing him of any of his senses. As he struggled to break free, he realized something was vibrating in his hoodie pocket before everything faded away._

 

Waking with a jolt, Sans sat up and scanned his surroundings. His soul slowing down as he remembered he was in the park under the tree. “Well, that was… bone chilling.” The skeleton muttered to himself, trying to make light of it.

It wasn’t working.

It felt like something bad had happened and that strange kid had known something. And that darkness and black goop…

He shivered, making his bones rattle faintly. Sans made a mental note to avoid chocolate syrup and pudding for a while until the dream became a faded memory. Becoming aware of a vibration on his side, Sans pulled out Papyrus’ phone, something Frisk was consistently trying to convince him of get one of his own, but it was so much easier, and funnier, to knick his brother’s when he wasn’t looking. An image of Alphys showed up as the caller as the phone kept vibrating in his hand. Pressing connect, Sans held the phone against his skull. “Hey Alphys, what’s going on?”

“S-Sans? Is th- that you?” Alphys voice stammered out from the speaker. “W-Where’s your brother?”

“Working a job shift with a human friend. He’s got a job. Really proud of him. My big bro will finally experience the joy of corporate mandated breaks.”

“Y-You need to find him r- right now! It’s urgent!” her tone of voice made Sans pause. Something was wrong. 

“Alphys, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Sans rolled himself into a crouching position, one knee pressing into the grass.

“I-It’s Frisk! Sh-she’s in the hospital.”

“What?” Sans felt like his soul was turning to ice.

“There was a a-accident involving c-cars… Frisk was b-badly injured and was rushed to the ho-hospital an-and they’re not waking up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Reset to Save!
> 
> If you enjoy the story so far and would like to comment/ critic, let me know. I'd really appreciate it and it would help with future chapters.
> 
> Note: this is a what if scenario I've had in my head about a True Reset happening for a different reason beyond "just because you were curious"


	2. Chapter 2

            The two skeleton brothers popped into existence in front of the hospital Alphys said Frisk was admitted in; Papyrus swaying slightly from an after effect of Sans’ shortcut.

            “I really hate that thing you do, Sans.” The taller skeleton rubbed the center of his chest as if to ease an invisible muscle. “How do you even stand it?”

“Now’s not the time, Pap, maybe later.” Sans glanced at their surroundings, noticing how a few people were startled by their surprise manifestation, all of them staring while one or two had taken a few steps back. “Finding Frisk is our top priority.”

“You’re right, of course, dear brother. Let us go then.” Papyrus strode towards the hospital entrance, Sans in close pursuit.

Sans felt like his soul was smashing itself against his chest in an attempt to burst through his ribs. The memory of Frisk shattering into nothing from his nightmare echoed in his skull, sending a shiver down his spine.

No. It was nothing more then a bad dream. There was no logic or reason behind for it to be marked up as coincidence. 

Slamming the door open, shocking some humans in the waiting section, Sans glanced around the place before joining his brother at the reception desk.

“Hello miss human, my brother and I are here to see Frisk Dreemurr.”

The woman working at the counter looked up at them, her eyes briefly widening before narrowing, her lips pressing into a tight line. “Frisk Dreemurr?” She asked coldly.

“That’s correct, madam. Would you be so kind as to tell us which room Frisk is in?”

“I’m afraid there is no such patient here.” The response was immediate, without even a glance at the computer screen.

“What? Oh dear! Sans, did we arrive at the right hospital? Or perhaps Alphys gave us the wrong name by mistake?”

“Nope, she gave us the right place.” Sans stared at the woman, who fidgeted slightly and bit her lower lip under the stare of his eye sockets. This kept on for a few seconds before Sans took a deep breath and sighed. He did not have the time or patience for this. “Lady, I know Frisk Dreemurr is a patient here. She was involved in a serious car accident today and was admitted here. My brother and I are here to see her.”

“I’m sorry…. _Sir_. But you are mistaken. We don’t have any records of anyone under that name being admitted here.” Her eyes flickered to the side, where a security guard was standing by and closely watching the interaction at the reception, his hand dropping down towards his belt. “I think it would best if—”

“Afternoon gentlemen.” A brisk male voice called out as a middle-age man wearing a doctor’s coat came striding out of a hallway towards them. “I presume that you are Sans and the Great Papyrus, the skeleton brothers?”

“Indeed mister!” Papyrus chest puffed out slightly. “I am the Great Papyrus, Royal Guard of the Ambassador, and this is my brother Sans.”

“Wonderful! Alphys informed me that you would be coming. Please allow me to show you the way.” he turned to the receptionist, who was watching with slight bewilderment. “I’ll take it from here Jenna, no need to worry.” 

The woman’s face contorted as she glanced at the humans in the waiting room and then the hallways leading deeper into the building. “Very well, Doctor Jenson…. If you say so.” She said reluctantly.

“If you would follow me please? I’m afraid we’ll have to go a different way to Frisk’s room.” The doctor gestured to the skeletons as he turned and walked to a door on the far right. 

                                                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“I’m sorry about the trouble at the front desk. Jenna started working at this hospital not too long ago and she’s still learning.” The doctor paused at an intersection as another human with a stretcher swiftly moved down the corridor.

“That so?” if he had an eyebrow, it’d be raised _really_ sarcastically. “Coulda fooled me. Seemed more like she wasn’t very monster friendly.”

The doctor glanced back, examining his boney expression before ruefully smiling. “Unfortunately, humans are still getting used to the idea of living monsters. Creatures we simply thought of as figments of childish fears and imagination, physically walking among us whole and alive. Even after four years.” He continued forward, one hand adjusting a pen clipped in the coats pocket. “Shame really, since there’s unlimited possibilities of discovery and knowledge yet to be found and many haven’t found it in their hearts to accept the change. It’s been the kind of things that humanity has struggled with through the ages.”

“How do you know Alphys?” Papyrus questioned as they passed by various rooms and storage closets.

“Doctor Alphys and I met at a science convention some time back. I was fascinated by the monster race’s ability to heal and we’ve been working together on the possibility of using healing magic on critically injured humans to the same effect it has on regular monsters. It has the potential to save lives and help strengthen the relationship between us.” The doctor paused and turned to face the skeletons. “I just realized I never properly introduced myself. My name is Liam Jenson, a doctor here at this hospital. Please feel free to call me by my first or last name.” He held out his hand to energetically shake theirs. “Glad to make your acquaintance.”

“Nice to meet ya Doc, same here.” eye sockets roamed around the corridors and rooms, noticing an important detail. “There a reason we seem to be going the long way around to Frisks room? I haven’t seen any other resident patients in our little walk.”

“Sans?” Papyrus voice was tinged with confusion. “What prompted that question?” Sans simply watched Doctor Liam’s reaction as the man’s smile faded.

“I suppose this wasn’t hard to notice. In a way, it does tie into what happened at the front desk.” Indicating for them to follow him once more, they continued. “Tell me, what do you know about human’s perspective of death?”

“Well, a lot of the time, it seems humans are afraid of dying or that they will go to a good or bad place.”

“That’s true. Many religions claim there’s more beyond our physical form and people often get scared about the idea of no longer existing. But what about humans most common viewpoint of deaths appearance, or more specifically, the Grim Reaper?”  

“Isn’t it a nice human wearing a suit and offering spaghetti?”

Doctor Liam laughed. “Interesting image, but no. The Grim Reaper is depicted as a cloaked skeleton wielding a scythe, sometimes even carrying an hourglass, that comes when it’s time for one to die.” The human glanced over his shoulder at the two skeletons. “So you can imagine the potential panic many patients would have seeing two walking and talking skeletons walking past their rooms.”

“It would make them jump out of their skins.” Sans thought about the humans in the waiting room, how some had been parents who held their children closer. It made more sense now about the reaction many people gave them, though it didn’t make things any easier or right.

“Sans, please tell me that wasn’t another one of your puns.”

“What do you mean paps? I’m being dead serious, _ulna_ kidding.”

“OH MY GOD SANS!”

The doctor let out a chuckle of laughter. “I see what Alphys meant when she talked about how the two of you were energetic.” Stopping in front of a closed door, he indicated the panel next to it with the name **Frisk Dreemurr** nestled within. “Here we are. I need to tend to other patients, but if you need me, there’s a button inside the room you can press that will alert me.” With a nod of his head, the human turned and left the two skeletons standing in the corridor and staring at the door.

Entering the room felt like an impossible task and when Papyrus finally managed to reach out and turn the door handle, Sans felt like an eternity passed before the door fully opened.

“Sans, Papyrus...” Toriel was sitting in the only chair in the room; tear stained eyes focusing at them. “I’m glad you were able to come.”

Frisk was lying quietly on the bed, head angled slightly away to the left. A machine was right next to her, beeping as it monitored her vital signs, an IV drip hooked up to her right arm. It would have been easy to assume she was simply sleeping if it wasn’t for the large bandages covering her cheek and forehead, along with a slim white cast enveloping her lower left arm.

“Oh my god, Frisk…” Sans could only stare at the unconscious kid, her breathing pained, but steady.

“The doctors said her left arm was sprained or possibly cracked and she fractured three ribs. There’s multiple scrapes and cuts from when she hit the ground, as well as a possible concussion.” Toriel was trying to keep her voice even and was failing. “They said she was lucky that the debris missed her head and vital areas or it would have killed her.” A sob broke out and the boss monster buried her head in her hands.

“How did she get hurt, Lady Toriel? What happened?” Papyrus voice and lower jaw quivered as he edged closer to the queen. It was obvious he was close to crying after seeing Toriel’s tears.

“I’m not fully sure myself, but from what I’ve gathered, it happened when Frisk was coming home from school.” Toriel lowered her hands to speak, though she kept her gaze on her palms. “I asked her to pick up a few things, since it was on her route back. At a crossway, a car suddenly lost control and crashed. Other cars became involved and caused some parts to fall off. The surrounding buildings received the worst of it and the citizens had minor damage. Frisk apparently ran out to protect two children who were in grave danger. She shielded them with her body….” Tears welled up once more.  “Frisk could have died, and I can’t do anything to help my child right now. Just like before…”

Sans stayed silent throughout the whole story. He didn’t know what to say, what to do. What _could_ he do? This wasn’t something a pun or a knock -knock joke could fix or lighten up the mood.

A timid knock echoed around the room and all three turned to see Bunbun standing there with her little brother hiding behind. “I’m sorry, is this a bad time?” the older rabbit sibling spoke, her ears drooping over her face. “Cinnamon wanted to see if Frisk was alright and hopefully thank her.” The rabbit brother peeked out around Bunbuns legs, looking at the bed. “He almost got hit by the car with a human child when Frisk grabbed both and turned them away from it.”

Toriel rose from her seat, wiping away her tears. “No, i-its alright. Your welcome to come in.” 

The two rabbit monsters hesitated before entering. Cinnamon tried to look over the high bed to see their ambassador. “I wanted to give her these as thanks.” He held up a small bundle of bright flowers.

“You were one of the two kids?”

 “I wanted to move, but I was so scared. My mind just blanked. Next thing I knew, the ambassador was there all of a sudden and she was tightly hugging my human friend and me. Then we were lying on the ground with broken stuff around us and people screaming.” Cinnamon stared down at the flowers, his whole body shaking. “She was really badly hurt and bleeding, but she asked if we were ok. She wanted to know we were safe… Then there was a lot of people pulling us away from the danger.” He looked up at Toriel. “She is ok right?”

“Never fear little rabbit, Frisk will be fine.” Papyrus knelt down to ruffle the younger monster head. “She’s just sleeping at the moment, But I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you came to say hello.” The Rabbit brother smiled and peered out from under Papyrus gloved hand. “You’re fine? No injuries?”

“Nope. A vegetoid gave me lots of green vegetables and fully healed me.” His rabbit ears began to perk up from Papyrus cheerful enthusiasm. He turned and gave the flowers to Toriel. “When she wakes up, can you let me know so I can say hi?”

“Of course young one.” Toriel smiled as she accepted the flowers. “And I’m sure Frisk will love these.”

“Come on, Cinnamon, we better get going or moms going to get annoyed at us.” Bunbun gently tugged on her brother’s shirt.

“Ok.” He walked to the doorway, pausing to wave at the skeletons and boss monster, before turning and leaving with his sister.

“I’ll go ask one of the nurses for a vase and water to put the flowers in.” Toriel shuffled to the doorway. “Can you both stay with Frisk?”

“Certainly Lady Toriel.”

“No problem Tori.”

As Toriel left the two skeletons in the room, Papyrus faced Sans, his smile fading a small bit.

“Sans… Will Frisk be alright? She’s going to wake up soon and everything will be fine?”

“I hope so Paps.” His eyes looked back at the unconscious kid and the beeping monitor. “ I really do.”

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 Over the course of the following week, Frisks room was never empty of visitors of one form or another. Many of the monsters worried about their representative to humanity after the news was posted on the Undernet. Human radio and TV media buzzed about the accident, on how Frisk had saved both monster and human children, further strengthening Frisk’s mission to bring both communities together. Camera crews attempted to get footage from the hospital, but were unsuccessful.

“They really don’t know when to give up.” Sans commented as he listened to the commotion of another news group attempting to capture film on the monster ambassador while the doctors held them back from the closed door.

Undyne said nothing from her position against the wall, arms firmly crossed against her chest.

Sans looked at her from his slouched posture in the chair. Asides from him, Toriel and Papyrus, Undyne was the most frequent visitor, sometimes even staying well past visiting hours to silently keep guard over Frisks bed. As far as he could recall, the staff had only asked once for her to leave, they never did again after replacing the room’s chair. He could see the bags under her eye as a result of little sleep.

“Isn’t Asgore meeting with the humans today? Shouldn’t you be there as a guard? Asgore had temporarily taken up Frisks duties as ambassador to allow Toriel to concentrate on the welfare of their adopted child.

“Papyrus is doing that today. Its better if he’s there instead of me for now.” Undyne’s voice croaked out from her stiff position. “They should see a cheerful monster guard than one whose ready to punch a hole in the wall and anyone who’s standing between the wall and my fist. More positive reception.”

“Sounds like you’re getting the hang politics, I thought you’d be like a fish in lava with the whole thing... Ya’know, you’re rarely ever this quiet for this long without bench-pressing something. Its kinda weirding me out.”

“…. I failed Frisk.” Undyne’s hands tightened on her arms, nails digging slightly into her scales.

Sans stared at Undyne for a few moments and sighed. That was the last thing he expected the tough fish monster to say aloud. “How did you fail the kiddo?”

“When Frisk asked if I wanted to become a royal guard of the ambassador, she told me that she’d feel safer if Papyrus and I were there by her side. It made me feel like I had a purpose again after Asgore disbanded the royal guards when the barrier was finally broken and all monsters could go to the surface.” The words were forced out in an intense tone of anguish. Undyne looked over at the bed and its occupant, tears faintly showing in her eye. “I made sure nothing bad happened while she was working as the ambassador of monsters to make things easy between us and the humans, but Frisk still got badly hurt. I failed my duty to Frisk. I’m ashamed to even talk to Toriel or Asgore.”

“There’s no way we could have predicted this happening, so don’t beat yourself up over this. Its not like you can be everywhere at once. ” Bony fingers gripped the fabric inside the pockets of his hoodie. “Pretty sure Frisk wouldn’t want you doing that. If she was awake, she’d be worried about you, ya’know?”

As they had been talking, the noise outside had died away and the door opened as Toriel entered, carrying a knitting bag. “Another news group again, you think they would stop coming after the first three attempts.” The boss monster muttered under her breath. She paused to see the two of them looking at her. “Oh, hello you two. How are things?”

“Same as usual. Frisk’s still asleep, though it does seem that she’s breathing a bit easier.”

“That’s good to hear. Doctor Jenson said that the fractures on her ribs have been mending smoothly and that they might be able to remove the arm cast soon.”

“Lady Toriel.” Undyne had moved from her leaning position to fully face the goat mother, her arms uncrossed and now rigidly by her sides. “I’m… I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect Frisk. I failed you and Asgore.”

Toriel blinked at the apology for a few moments before her face softened. “You don’t have any reason to apologize Undyne. I always felt secure with the knowledge that my child was safe in her work as ambassador with you and Papyrus by her side, just as I am now, knowing that the two of you are still looking out for her.” Toriel looked over at Sans. “Just as I’m glad that I always have some company that tries to lighten the mood.”

“Always glad to help Tori.” Sans allowed an easy grin to spread across his face. “Wouldn’t want you to get bored to the bone being here day after day by your goatsome. I’d feel baaaad about it”

Undyne’s face began to twist with conflicting emotions, her red-rimmed eye twitching slightly. “Sans….. If I weren’t so tired, I’d throw you out the window right now. I was being serious and you ruined the mood.”

“Whale sorry, Undyne. You know it’s a halibut of mine to make a pun or two when things get serious.” Sans lifted his shoulders up in a shrug. “If you ask me, it puts too much tension on the body and mussels.”

“Uuuuugh…” Undyne rolled her head back to laser beam stare at the ceiling while Toriel attempted to cover up her smile.

“By the way Undyne, Alphys called me to ask if you wanted to stay over at her place for the night. She mentioned something about watching a movie perhaps?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That sounds… nice. But what about-”

“Don’t sweat it Undyne, I’ll watch over the kid for tonight. It’s a pretty simple thing to do and you look like you could use a break and a solid 48 hours of sleep to rest your gills.”

“I’d normally ask Papyrus, but he’s going to be busy with Asgore for the next few days.” Undyne rubbed the back of her neck. “And I guess you were a sentry.”

“That was my job in the underground.” Aside from the few times he had taken four-hour breaks on multiple of his posts, but hey, no one had ever complained.

The fish monster closed her eye and sighed, seeming to accept defeat. “Alright, but no slacking off Sans, understand?”

“Don’t worry, I wont.” Things this time were way too serious for him to goof off. In the Underground, it had been fine since there hadn’t really been any urgency, but now this was completely different situation. He couldn’t afford not to care anymore.

                                                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Sans?” a soft voice echoed down into the comfortable darkness as it pulled the skeleton out into dull light and blurry objects.

“Huh? Whassup?” the words mumbled out as Sans blearily rubbed the palm of his hand against the corner of his eye socket. He blinked a few times as things began to slide into focus, becoming Frisk’s hospital room and bed, Toriel’s concerned face in front of him sharpening.

“I just came in, were you sleeping here all night?” Toriel placed one paw on his forehead, as if she was checking his temperature.

“Hey, I said I’d watch over her at night yesterday.” He pushed himself up on the chair, feeling aches in his bones from the uncomfortable sleeping position. He was going to have to ask for more comfortable chairs, or just bring a ton of cushions next time. “If I didn’t, Undyne would be mad and pin me to the wall with her spear and Pap’s would say I was a lazy bones and slacking off on my job again.”

The last comment earned a smile from the goat mother before it faded and she looked at the bed. “She’s still hasn’t woken up yet?”

“No, not even a flicker of her eyelashes.”

Toriel sighed in sad acceptance and set her bag down. “I was thinking of asking Doctor Jenson if there was a place he’d recommend to order breakfast from. I didn’t have time to make anything this morning and I’m sure you’re quite hungry.”

“Sounds good Tori, think I’ll join ya. Give a chance for my bones to walk off the ache.” Sans pushed himself out of the seat. “Last thing I want is rickety legs and arms while I’m still young.”

Toriel laughed as she opened the door and let herself out. Waiting for a few moments to make sure she wasn’t coming right back in, eye sockets turned to the sleeping kid.

“Come on kid, what’s wrong? You should be fine, so what’s keeping you from opening your eyes and waking up? Everyone worried sick.” 

The door opened and closed as the skeleton left, leaving Frisk in silence as the monitor continued its passive consistent beeping. 

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Dust motes floated through the sunlight as it found its way through the closed curtain and into Frisks room. An unseen body passed through, causing the dust to rapidly swirl away. The air next to Frisks bed wavered before growing heavy and gaining a dark gray color. Taking shape of a young child, its head turned to look at Frisk, blood red eyes watching.


	3. Chapter 3

“Gotta say, that was a pretty good diner.” Sans said, ambling down the hall alongside Toriel. He was idly fiddling with a ketchup packet; one of a handful he had managed to grab on the way out. He could mentally hear Pap’s voice berating him for taking the small packets of deliciousness “Maybe we can go there again another time.”

“If they allow us in again.” Skepticism was everywhere on the goat mothers face. “You did consume quite a lot of ketchup straight from the bottle.”

“Hey, what can I say? I’m a ketchup lover. Besides, it might help put some meat on my bones, if it’s ever willing to stick to my ribs.”

Toriel chuckled before her expression became sober.

“Ya thinking about Frisk?”

“It’s been a week Sans, I was hoping she’d wake up after a day with her type of injuries.” Her hands clasped tightly on white furred arms. “ What if Frisk never wakes up and remains in that state forever?  I had hoped I would never again have to watch another child disappear because I couldn’t do anything but helplessly stand by useless!”

Well… what was he supposed to say to that?

Silence stretched out between the two, almost to a breaking point. He wasn’t as good at cheering people up like Papyrus—you couldn’t fake that honest optimism. And he certainly didnt possess Grillby’s ability to make a comforting drink that could calm and relax with just one sip.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Toriel had stopped until he’d walked at least a few feet ahead. “Tori?” Her expression of wide-eyed unease was clear for only a moment before she swiftly bypassed him. Following the direction of her movement, Sans eye sockets went blank at the sight of Frisks door open and occupied by a nurse talking to a doctor.

He ran for the doorway, too shocked to take a shortcut, words becoming clearer as he drew closer.

“-eed to calm yourself ma’am.” The nurse was trying to placate Toriel, who was frantically trying to get past the human.

“What’s wrong with my child? Why wont you let me in?”

“Ma’am please!” the nurse’s tone was flustered. “I can’t allow you in with your current emotional state.” The doctor, who Sans now recognized as Jenson, glanced back into the room before gently placing a hand on the goat mothers upper arm.

“Toriel, there’s some things we need to discuss in private. Arguing right in front of the room will only scare Frisk.” The older mans eyes shifted towards Sans. “It might help if you hear this too.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Amnesia?” the word fell out of Toriel’s mouth like a weight as the three of them sat in an office.

The human nodded slightly. “This is probably due to the head injury she received from the accident. So far, it seems like any memory of the past four years has been lost. She was quite shaken when we told her the year and has been repeatedly asking about the condition of her grandparents and mother.”

Sans head tilted slightly at the last part of Jenson’s words. He knew Frisks grandparents from the multiple visits to the elderly care facility, but the human mother was a different story. It was a topic Frisk avoided and Toriel never shed any light on the subject, as per the kiddos request.

“So what does this mean for the kiddo?”

“Well, since Frisk seems to be able to clearly recall past events and process newer information, it’s likely a mild form of retrograde amnesia. With some gentle encouragement the memories should return over a period of time.” Papers rustled as a clipboard were referenced. “By what we’ve checked so far, Frisk’s health is stable and she can be released in a few days. Though I’d recommend that Frisk come back in a few weeks just to make sure everything is progressing well.”

“Am I allowed to see her?”

“Of course. Seeing you might start memory recognition and help make things easier when she goes back home with you. Just remember, this might be a long process, so take things slowly.” Jenson turned his attention to the skeleton. “Sans, I don’t think Frisk should see you.”

Sans opened his mouth to protest, then paused. “Is that because I’m a skeleton.”

“Yes.” The doctor replied. “Not to be discriminatory you understand, but—”

“Nah, I get it.” Sans waved him off. He’d seen the way people looked at him and Pap as opposed to other monsters. The fluffy monsters like the temmie’s got weird looks, especially when they started extending their body parts to unnatural lengths.

But walking, talking skeletons?

He’d seen at least three people clutch those little cross things around their necks when he walked past them in the last week alone.

If the kid didn’t know who, or what, he was; she’d probably get freaked out.

“Can I just stay outside and listen in?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Alright.” Sans looked at Tori. “Well, Goat Mom? What are you waiting for? Your baby’s waiting for ya.”

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Frisk?” Sans watched as Jenson rapped lightly on the open doorframe. “You have some visitors, feeling up to talking with them?”

“…Sure?” Hearing the 13 years old’s voice was enough to make Sans weak in the knees with relief. The kid’s words were clear, but…he stopped as the realization hit that the tone was different; the underlying confidence and optimism were nowhere to be heard. It didn’t sound anything like the kid he knew for four years, more like...

“My child, I’m glad you’re awake.” Tearfully, Toriel entered the room and Sans could mentally picture Toris arms wrapping around the girl. She was probably drawing Frisk close to furry shoulders out of relief while carefully ensuring the arm cast wasn’t jostled.

“Thanks…” Frisks voice was slightly muffled, overlaying the rustling sheets and creaking bed. “Why are you wearing a costume? Are you a kid entertainer? It feels real.”

“No, my child. I am Toriel, your adopted mother. You’ve been living with me and my husband Asgore for four years.”

“I- Sorry.” Another creak of the bed emanated from the room. “I don’t understand, what do you mean I’ve been living with you? I live with my grandparents. I have no idea who you are.”

Wincing, Sans could clearly picture pain cross Toriel’s face before softening. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But I promise it will be alright, I’ll help you.”

The skeleton leaned against the wall, pulling up the sweaters large hood to cover his eye sockets. He said nothing while his grip tightened, almost to the point of ripping the fabric, his stance expressionless.

“Do you want to stay here or go somewhere private?” Jenson mercifully kept his gaze at the occupants in the room, voice soft for privacy.

“The others need to know Frisk is awake and the situation.” Sans turned back the way he had come. “B’sides don’t wanna the kid to accidentally see me and freak out any more then they already are.” Taking a single step, Sans vanished with a shortcut.                                                                       

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!” wood splintered and cracked around Undyne’s fist.

“U-Undyne! Please d-don’t destroy my wall.” Alphys attention returned to the seated skeleton.  “So Jenson t-thinks its retrograde amnesia?”

“That’s what he said.” Sans pulled out a ketchup packet and tore a corner off, slurping the contents down in one gulp. “He thinks it will take a little time for the memories to come back, whatever that means.”

Pausing to think for a few moments, Alphys dragged an old laptop over and began typing furiously, the screen reflecting off her glasses.

“Why waste time at all? Lets just go to Frisks room right now! I bet in FIVE minutes tops, she’ll remember everything again.”

“Have any plans on how?” Sans asked.

“Well first-“

“No.”

“I didn’t even finish!”

“You were going to break the door, demand that she remember you and if that didn’t do anything, insist on a fight to help jog her memory.”

“…. You make it sounds it’s a bad plan.”

“Gee, I wonder why?”

“A-actually Undyne,” Alphys said, scanning her eyes across the text on the screen. “He’s right. If anything, it c-could make things even worse!”

“But…. Violence!” Undyne insisted halfheartedly.

“Undyne,” Alphys chided. “Frisk is currently in a fragile s-state of mind and being. Having an armored fish person come c-crashing into the room, waving a glowing blue spear and screaming ‘Fight me’ _probably_ isn’t the best idea. With her a-amnesia, Frisk might t-turn that into psychological trauma and we’d lose any chance of her wanting to remember.”

“What makes you so sure? How do you even know about this brain stuff?”

“I-I just looked it up.” Indicating the computer, Alphys turned the screen around. “There’s an amazing site on the W-world Wide Web that holds an achieve of knowledge. A-anyone can access it f-for free.”

Squinting her eye, Undyne examined the page. “Wikipedia? Is that really an official site for information? Sounds a little strange to me.”

“W-why wouldn’t it be official? I’ve looked up hundreds of t-things on this site and it hasn’t led me wrong so far.” Alphys bit down on her lower lip as a pout.           

“We’re getting off topic here.”  Sans knew their arguments could go on forever if allowed. “What does it say about retrograde amnesia?”

Pausing to push up her glasses, all focus was reverted back to the screen. “Amnesia affects memory in v-various ways, depending on how serious t-the injury to the brain is. It can vary from forgetting events, skills, places or p-people related to a specific incident or topic. With temporary retrograde amnesia, memory recollection can happen b-between a few days or years.”

            “Ok, so what, best case is just waiting a few days or weeks?” Undyne cracked her knuckles, Sans wincing at the sound. “That doesn’t sound too bad. With all of us monsters around, there has to be something to set it off and make her remember.”

“I- I think so. Frisks head injury was categorized as a mild concussion. S-so by all logic, the condition should n-not last very long.” The yellow monster heard a stool creak and looked back. “Sans, w-where are you going?”

“The hospital to visit Frisk.”

“N-now?”

“At this point of the day, things should hopefully be calming down since she’s awake. Now’s a good time as any to reintroduce myself.”

“Wait, so you’re going to pop in suddenly on the kid with no warning? How is this any different from **my** earlier idea??”

“Nah, gonna go slow with the kid, keep the mood light. Figured I’d tickle her funny _bone_ and make things _humorous_.” With a wink, he took his leave from Alphys workshop.

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                   

Frisk blankly stared at the ceiling of her room. Confusion swirled in thoughts, trying to process the information the doctors and nurses had given her.  Had four years really passed since that afternoon? Were grandma and grandpa aware of, what were their names, _Toriel_ and _Asgore,_ having legal custody? Did they even care? And mom, how was she….

The bed creaked as its occupant turned to the side. The IV stand had been removed, as well as most of the equipment, since the doctors and nurses deemed it unnecessary. In all honesty, that was a huge relief; it had been unsettling to wake up to large beeping machines next to a bed and the feeling of the needle inside the arm.

Gently flexing her finger on her cast encased left hand she tried to distract herself. Unfortunately it didn’t take long before thoughts bombarded her again. An annoyed groan rumbled in the throat as her body curled up. Breathing in deeply, Frisks eyes closed as the memory of the large white goat monster from earlier rose to the surface.

 The way she had been swept into a hug, the sound of teary relief in the voice, all of it had felt faintly familiar, but unreal. Almost like a dream she’d often fantasized. And when she had pushed Toriel away and spoke the truth, the pain that went across the monsters face was as if she had used a knife. Even thinking about that expression caused guilt to squirm deep down. If what Toriel said was true, why couldn’t she remember anything. One comforting thought was that the hospital had contacted her grandparents and they were coming the next day. Things would make sense when they came, it always did.

A knocking on wood echoed around the room, cutting through musing thoughts. “Hello?” Frisk gently pushed herself up to look at the entrance, only to find the open door empty. “Is someone there?”

“Heya Kiddo…” her body turned to ice as a voice spoke close by, right where the empty chair was. There was no way anyone was sitting there without her seeing or hearing them enter the room, but her pounding heart ignored the logic.

“Don’t you know how to greet someone with a ‘knock knock’ joke?”. Head turning slowly, Frisk’s breath hitched slightly as her eyes took in the a shadowed figure sitting casually in the chair, a large smile stretched across a bony face. “You’re suppose to say ‘who’s there’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why I had such a hard time with this chapter; really hate how it took so long to write, and I apologize. Hopefully this won’t happen again, since it feels like I got over the curve/hill of introducing the scenario.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the 1st part to Reset to Save!
> 
> If you enjoy the story so far and would like to comment/ critic, let me know. I'd really appreciate it and it would help with future chapters.
> 
> Note: this is a what if scenario I've had in my head about a True Reset happening for a different reason beyond "just because you were curious"


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